Brussels, 29/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - The recently concluded trialogue agreement between the Council and the European Parliament (EP) on the regulation on the transparency and integrity of wholesale energy markets paves the way for standards on market conduct and monitoring mechanisms to detect and prevent wholesale market abuse and manipulation. The Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER), recently set up in Ljubljana, will have a crucial role to play.
On Wednesday 29 June, the member states' ambassadors to the EU approved a draft compromise reached by the Hungarian Presidency and the EP in trialogue on 23 June on the proposal for a regulation on the transparency and integrity of wholesale markets, tabled by the European Commission in November of last year. This text seeks to guarantee the transparency of markets by requiring energy dealers to abide by clear rules and not to use privileged information to derive benefit from their transactions or manipulate the market by causing artificial price rises not justified by reasons of availability, production cost or energy storage and transport capacity. It gives ACER a key role, responsible for market supervision to detect any abuse. To this end, ACER will have to have access, as required, to full information on wholesale market transactions, in particular on prices, amounts traded and counterparties. The data will also be sent to national regulatory authorities responsible for conducting investigations into suspected abuse. In complex cases involving more than one country, ACER will coordinate investigations. Sanctions will be applied by national regulators in member states.
The EP, while supporting the draft text in the energy committee at the end of May, toughened the content, calling, for instance, for harmonised minimum sanctions. At the last trialogue meeting on 23 June, the Hungarian Presidency succeeded in finding a compromise package with the EP delegation, led by Jorgo Chatzimarkakis (ALDE, Germany), based on: - the introduction of an inter-institutional statement and elements to set proportionate, dissuasive and effective penalties, and the possibility of a future Commission proposal to harmonise minimum sanctions; - the introduction of national registries of market participants, including energy traders, and the creation by ACER of a European registry; - and the balance of powers between ACER and national regulatory authorities.
If the EP gives first reading approval to the text, when it is put to the vote, probably in the September plenary session, the regulation on transparency and integrity could come into force immediately. (E.H./transl.rt)